Google Victorious in 6-Year Aussie Legal Battle

A court in Australia
has ruled in favor of Google in its lengthy legal fight with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The case, which lasted six years, concerned search results from 2006-07.

The Commission claimed that sponsored links published by Google diverted users to rival companies, according to the Herald. For instance, a search for "Honda Australia" would prompt a paid ad for CarSales, which was a competitor.

The Commission charged that results like that insinuated that CarSales and Honda were partnered in some way -- and Google, therefore, was to blame for the mix-up.

The Federal Court found Google liable for misleading and deceptive conduct, but upon appeal, the High Court ruled unanimously in favor of Google.

In October, an Aussie court
found Google liable for damages when a man complained that Google's autocomplete function linked him to a meth kingpin.

Raspberry Pi on Sale in Europe

A less expensive version of the Google-funded Raspberry Pi computer is now on sale in Europe.

The BBC
reports
that the computer, dubbed Model A, is scaled-down from its Raspberry Pi successor, the Model B. The Model A lacks a network jack and contains less memory. It also uses less power.

Drawbacks, maybe, but the humble design means the computer costs all of $25.

The Model A is only available in Europe, but that will change soon, according to the BBC.

Japanese Government, Rights-Holders Planting Fake Files

In Japan, government authorities and rights-holders
are seeding fake files
on file-sharing sites that contain anti-piracy messages, according to Torrent Freak.

The nation
approved a major upgrade
in anti-piracy legislation in 2012. However, file-sharers have been slow to heed the policies. Thus the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and rights-holding companies have embarked, as the Ministry puts it, on "experiments to contribute to the enlightenment of users" who download illegal files.

Torrent Freak posted a sample warning. It says that similarly-named files contain illegal content, and that downloading said files is illegal. The message also makes note of the October 2012 passage of laws that can punish offenders with up to two years in prison and more than US$20,000 fines.

Nokia Eyeing Tablet Market

The tablet will likely be Windows-based, which makes sense seeing as Nokia turned to Windows for its Lumia 610 smartphone.

The company has yet to officially confirm plans for a tablet, but company CEO Stephen Elop spoke to reporters in Sydney about "broadening out the [company's] portfolio," and that tablets could be part of that strategy.